Defense attorney: James Crumbley never threatened prosecutor, he was 'venting'

When James Crumbley hurled profanity toward the Oakland County prosecutor in jailhouse phone calls, called her a "whore" and warned, "Your ass is going down and you better be f------ scared," he wasn't physically threatening her, his lawyer says.

He was just venting, his attorney argues, and expressing his hopes that Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald would lose her law license over her handling of his unprecedented case.

"It is clear that Mr. Crumbley is venting to loved ones about his frustration related to the lack of investigation done by the prosecution prior to authorizing charges against him and his wife, which resulted in his more than 2-year incarceration up to this point," defense attorney Mariell Lehman wrote in her latest filing. "He does not threaten physical harm to Karen McDonald; instead, the calls are clear that he wants to ensure that she does not do to other people what she had done in his case — authorize charges before an investigation could be conducted."

More specifically, Lehman argues, Crumbley's jailhouse calls reflect his "desire to ensure that Karen McDonald is not able to continue practicing law as a result of her actions in his and his wife's case."

Lehman went on to state: "He specifically says that he does not believe that (McDonald) will go anywhere but (to) hell due to the lies that she told and continued to tell. He goes on to say that he hopes that she loses her job and the Michigan State Bar takes her license. None of these statements threaten physical harm."

Prosecutors: Crumbley shows no remorse, blames others

Lehman argued these points in a sentencing memo that advocates for leniency for James Crumbley, who will be sentenced Tuesday for his role in the 2021 Oxford High School shooting committed by his son. He and his wife, Jennifer, were convicted by separate juries of four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The prosecution has urged the judge to hold Crumbley's jailhouse calls against him at sentencing and lock him up for 10-15 years, maintaining, "His jail calls show a total lack of remorse" and "he blamed everyone but himself for what happened and ... repeatedly referred to himself as being persecuted and considered himself a ‘martyr.’ "

The prosecution argues the jail calls, and other factors, warrant the judge going over the state's recommended sentencing guidelines for Crumbley of 43-86 months, or about seven years maximum.

Lehman, however, argues the calls aren't what the prosecution is claiming them to be, and is urging the judge to sentence James Crumbley to time served, or alternatively, up to 43 months in prison, with credit for time served: he has been jailed for almost 2½ years.

The Crumbleys are the first parents in America to be held criminally responsible for a school shooting by their child, Ethan, who pleaded guilty to his crimes and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parol. Both parents are to be sentenced Tuesday after separate juries convicted them each on four counts of involuntary manslaughter — one for each classmate their son murdered: Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17.

Each count carries a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years, though the sentences are expected to be served concurrently.

The prosecution, which filed its sentencing memos last week, is seeking 10- to 15-year prison sentences for both parents, maintaining the Crumbleys — more than anyone else — could have prevented the massacre had they taken the "smallest" of steps, like putting a cable lock on the gun that their son used in the rampage, storing it in a locked safe, or telling the school their son had access to a gun when they were summoned over his troubling behavior.

Instead of getting help for a troubled son, prosecutors argue, James Crumbley took him on Black Friday 2021 to buy a 9mm handgun the teen had been asking for. Four days later, Ethan Crumbley used the gun to kill four students and injure six other students and a teacher on Nov. 30, 2021.

The Crumbleys, though, are both trying to avoid a prison sentence altogether, maintaining they never saw any signs that their son would hurt others or himself or was mentally ill; that they never knew he was plotting to shoot up his school; and that the gun used in the shooting was hidden in a bedroom armoire, unloaded, with the bullets in a separate location.

Jennifer Crumbley's lawyer, Shannon Smith, has made a rare request in asking the judge to let her client live in her guest house on a tether in lieu of prison — or in the alternative, let her live with her parents in Florida.

Defense: Jailhouse calls are taken out of context

James Crumbley's lawyer was the last to file her sentencing memorandum, in which she steadfastly argued that her client had no way of knowing his son would ever harm anyone and would change many things he did, given what he knows now. In her memo, she lashed out at the prosecution for claiming her client has shown no remorse, maintaining the very same jail calls that Crumbley is being criticized for contain comments from him expressing remorse and regret.

"As with most things, context is important as it relates to these calls," Lehman wrote, noting that in one of the jail calls that Crumbley is alleged to have threaten McDonald, he also discussed how he and his wife could have done things differently had they known about the things his son was hiding from them.

"We could have saved four kids' lives ... we could have saved everything," Crumbley says in a 2022 jailhouse call with a relative.

"It is important to note that on more than one occasion, Mr. Crumbley expressed significant remorse for what the families who lost their children were experiencing and assertions that he would have done things differently had he known what his son was planning," Lehman wrote, later stressing:

"There is no disputing that the events of Nov. 30, 2021, are incredibly tragic and that those affected will likely never be the same, especially those who lost a child."

Defense: Yes, James Crumbley is angry

Lehman also took issue with the prosecution alleging in its sentencing memo that James Crumbley flipped prosecutors off during trial, and included a picture of him allegedly doing so as he sat next to his lawyer. Crumbley, she says, was not flipping anyone off but holding his headphones to his ear using his finger — a point she also noted during trial when she let the judge know that her client has trouble hearing and would be pressing the headset closer.

As for his venting in the jail calls, Lehman writes: "Mr. Crumbley is understandably angry for being charged, arrested and incarcerated for something that he did not have knowledge of and for not breaking any laws as it relates to the storage of firearms."

At the time of the shooting, Michigan had no safe storage law, though it does now. According to Crumbley, the gun his son used to shoot up his school was hidden in his bedroom armoire, unloaded in a case, with the bullets hidden in a separate drawer.

"Mr. Crumbley has been incarcerated and on 23-hour lockdown for over two years for crimes he maintains that he is innocent of," Lehman writes. "It is not beyond reason that a person would be frustrated and would vent those frustrations to loved ones."

In her memo, Lehman also requested that an independent prosecutor handle James Crumbley's sentencing rather than Karen McDonald and her staff, citing a conflict of interests due to the alleged jailhouse calls that are being used against the father at sentencing. She argued that McDonald and staff should recuse themselves from sentencing, given they could be called as witnesses over those calls. In the alternative, she asks that the judge remove the extra points that the prosecution has added to Crumbley's sentencing score by citing the calls.

Multiple family members and friends — including a garlic farmer in Idaho and two sisters — wrote character reference letters to the judge on James Crumbley's behalf. They described him as a loving and reliable friend and brother who taught one sister how to drive and later coached her son in baseball, encouraged another sister through her diabetes struggles, and helped kids with their baseball pitching or hitting skills and umpired games.

"No matter where he went, James always made an impact," his cousin, Melissa Folette, of Florida, wrote the judge, noting she hopes her letter gets across this message: "James Crumbley is a good person."

The Idaho garlic farmer agreed.

"James has been there for me and my family many times over the years," wrote Geoffrey Yockey, of Idaho, who also offered to let James Crumbley live with his family should the judge allow it. "He will always be welcome in my home."

Sentencing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The families of the victims are expected to give impact statements.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: James Crumbley wants time-served for role in Oxford school shooting